The area of the heat recovery network has a significant impact on the economic performance of the coal-to-SNG process. This paper proposes a superstructure of the methanation unit, and the number of the methanator, recycle gas extraction position (RGEXP), as well as the operating conditions, are optimized. Simultaneous optimization and heat integration are performed along with the area targeting to weigh against the operating cost and capital cost of the coal-to-SNG process. Area cost is evaluated by assuming vertical heat transfer between cold and hot composite curves. A sequential method is used to provide initial values for the simultaneous model. Results show that Case7 (2) has the best economic performance, which has 7 methanators and recycled gas is extracted from the 2nd methanator. The total annual cost of Case7 (2) can be reduced by 10.36 MM$.a(-1), and exergy efficiency can be also improved by 0.77% compared with an industrial plant. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.